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Trimble To Acquire Google SketchUp
yoink! writes "It looks like Google is selling off SketchUp or, conversely, Trimble is acquiring it. Despite several indications there will continue to be a free version of the 3D modelling software, users are unsure about what this will mean for the SketchUp community at large as indicated by the comments on the official Google SketchUp Blog post. They are, however, rejoicing that they will be freed from Groups for SketchUp discussions."
Enough said if true.
To the detriment of all of us
Dance like you're hurt, Love like you need money, and work when somebody's watching.
-Scott Adams
Who wants to guess how long it'll take before Trimble decides to nix the free version? (or perhaps to move basic tools into the non-free pro version)
Another affirmation that lifetime of any Google service is always in question.
Now Google can focus more on copying Facebook and iOS.
learn the lesson!
don't ever depend on 'cloud things'. and google is a cloud thing maker (heh).
to invest time and learning in things that can be taken away with almost no notice is lunacy.
one of these days, I expect to see a google service removed several days before its even launched.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
This is exactly right. There is no guaranteed lifespan for any google app. It's best to not get too attached to any one of them.
I got here through a series of tubes
SketchUp was an acquired start-up. Is there any data present that would let us see if Google paid more for the acquisition than it gets now?
Google bought it so users would have a free easy-to-use tool to contribute to Google Maps/Earth. A GPS provider would also want free work to improve the 3D structures in their maps.
This is Google concentrating on their core business area - ads. If it doesn't have ads on it, it's going.
What does Google have left that doesn't have ads, or collects data on users to support ads?
To make GIS data acquisition more intuitive to a wider audience. That part isn't all bad. I can easily imagine a total station with SketchUp integrated. This could compete favorably with 3D scanners and working from point clouds for interior surveys.
Great for Trimble and some of their potential customers... We'll have to see on everyone else.
I volunteer at a local community theatre, fulfilling a wide range of different roles from time to time. Recently, I worked as a Technical Director for a production, which included the necessity of doing the set design.
Previously, another enterprising TD had created a Sketchup model of the interior of our back-box theatre space, and used that to do set designs. Let me tell you, apart from some annoying UI issues (trying to convert 2-D input into 3-D input), Sketchup is absolutely fantastic for designing and visualizing different sets and audience creation. I highly recommend it to anyone out there for creating 3-D models of their sets, once the 2-D sketches are completed.
It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
--Scott Adams
SketchUp isn't cloud-based, moron.
Check out my world simulator thingy.
There's always been a massive price difference between the pro and standard version, $500 and free. The pro version looks like fun but it's way over priced. Cut it in half and I think a lot more would consider it. Google was mostly feeding off designers that are software challenged so they were able to keep the price high because they really didn't care if it sold or not since the focus was the free consumer version. I think they'll be in for an ugly surprise if they try to charge for Sketch Up the basic version so I doubt that's in the works. I'd expect fewer upgrades and more versions with the pricing being more distributed between the free standard version and hopefully a cheaper pro version.
I have a fairly good clue of what's going on since the company I work for (Tekla) got recently acquired by Trimble. Except for long term roadmap, they've pretty much left us alone (at least it seems that way to us programmers). Trimble wants to create a competetive vertical solution in the construction industry to compete with Autodesk's toolchain. Autodesk pretty much dominates the construction industry, and their ecosystem is proprietary and closed. The counterbalance to this is a developing toolchain of tools built around the IFC format which is standardized and open. Trimble already had most of the other pieces in a complete architect-to-the-construction yard toolchain except for an archictecture software, and now they have it. This means, there is now true competition in the construction segment offering information tools, and not only Autodesk and Autodesk. This sort of competition is good, people.At least so far the non-Autodesk parties try to break their dominant position with collaborative tools and an open format. Of course, what the situation will be in the future? Who knows.